Jeremiah never really had a chance

Sunday

Dec 29, 2013 at 6:00 AMDec 29, 2013 at 6:25 AM

By Dianne Williamson TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

By now, we're painfully aware of the perfect storm of neglect, abuse and incompetence that engulfed little Jeremiah Oliver, the 5-year-old boy who is likely a fatal victim of those entrusted to protect him.

His mother, Elsa Oliver, has a history of mental illness and allowed her gang-banger boyfriend to brutalize her and her three children, according to prosecutors. She did nothing to protect these kids; on the contrary, she told someone she was taking Jeremiah out of school because she was "sick of DCF."

She suffers a breathtakingly low tolerance for authority, because state social workers hadn't been inside this Fitchburg house of horrors since May. Yet a supervisor for the state Department of Children and Families reported in September that the family's apartment was clean and without hazards, and suggested the case be closed. Nothing to see here, folks.

Two state workers were fired, and public outcry is once again aimed at an agency that's frequently the focus of politicians' outrage, when they're not pushing for budget cuts. Meanwhile, more than 500 new care and protection cases have been filed this year in Worcester County.

"There's no question in my mind that DCF workers are way over the number of cases they should have responsibility for," said lawyer Laurie Raphaelson, who often works as a guardian ad litem in the juvenile courts.

It's a sad truism — but no excuse — that the system can't save every child born without a chance, especially when a mother is so wretched that she protects the scum who is abusing her kids. Both Elsa Oliver and boyfriend Alberto Sierra Jr. face charges in the disappearance of Jeremiah.

Another character in this tragedy has not been charged, and he's taken it upon himself to play a starring role. His name is Jose A. Oliver, and he's the biological father of Jeremiah and Jeremiah's two siblings. In total, Jose has at least six children with three different women. He's still married to Elsa Oliver but lives in New Britain, Conn. He last saw Jeremiah more than two years ago and has a history of heroin abuse.

Jose resurfaced when his son went missing. He's given many news interviews, often wearing a T-shirt with his son's picture on the front and the word "Daddy" on the back.

"I feel I should have been there to protect him," the 41-year-old absentee father told reporters. "But (Elsa Oliver) did not allow me to be there."

He's likely referring to the restraining orders. In one affidavit, filed in March 2012, Elsa said that Jose had slapped her and chased her with a knife. She said she's been forced to stay in shelters to escape Jose's abuse.

There's no record that Jose ever tried to obtain visitation with his kids. It would have been difficult, anyway, as he is unemployed and doesn't own a car.

Michelle Silva of Worcester married Jose Oliver in 1994 when she was 19 and pregnant. She divorced him in 2000. She has raised two fine teens with little or no help from their father.

"He hasn't been in their lives," she said. "The last time he called my oldest son, a few months ago, he didn't even know he was in college."

Jose had likewise not seen those children in two years, but reconnected during the search for Jeremiah. Last week he went back to Connecticut without saying goodbye, but maybe he'll touch base again when he returns to Massachusetts to seek custody of Jeremiah's two siblings, now in state care.

Yup, you read that right. And I'm guessing the custody hearing will feature a despondent Jose adorned in the T-shirt that claims he's a daddy, instead of the more accurate designation: sperm donor.